1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of trailer hitch balls. More specifically, the present invention discloses a trailer hitch ball assembly that uses a removable clip to hold the fastening pin in the ball while the ball is not in use.
2. Statement of the Problem
Various types of trailer hitches have been used for many years. One common type of trailer hitch uses a generally spherical metal ball mounted on a stub shaft extending upward from a member attached to the towing vehicle. A corresponding hitch socket assembly carried by the trailer is coupled to the ball to connect the trailer to the towing vehicle.
Unfortunately, several different trailer hitch ball sizes have come into common usage, resulting in incompatibility problems. Several approaches have been used in the past to allow balls of various sizes to be substituted interchangeably. For example, the "Adapt Hitch Ball" hitch marketed by Titan Industries, Inc. of Wyandotte, Mich., employs a ball with a vertical hexagonal bore that receives a corresponding hexagonal stub shaft. Transverse bores extend through both the ball and shaft. After the ball has been placed over the shaft with the transverse bores in proper alignment with one another, a removable pin is inserted through the transverse bores to secure the ball to the shaft. This allows balls of different sizes to be quickly and easily substituted by removing the pin, lifting the ball of the stub shaft, placing a different ball on the shaft, and reinserting the pin through the ball and shaft. However, the pin is relatively small and can be easily misplaced or lost when it is removed from the ball. This is particularly a problem while extra balls are in storage, since each ball is usually equipped with its own pin.
One approach to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,406 (Van Vleet et al.). Van Vleet et al. include retention means in the transverse bore of the ball to prevent the pin from being completely withdrawn from the ball. This keeps the pin from becoming lost, but adds complexity and increases manufacturing costs.